


cri de coeur

by The_Empress_of_Everything



Series: per deim [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 11:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13340580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Empress_of_Everything/pseuds/The_Empress_of_Everything
Summary: cri de coeur: noun1. French. an anguished cry of distress or indignation; outcry.(Her scream of agony was far worse than the cries of the military trumpets.)





	cri de coeur

**Author's Note:**

> Listen to Carrie Underwood's Just a Dream while reading this.

His body had been returned to the clan, they whispered. He would be buried with full honors, despite having run away from the clan with his long-time girlfriend and joining the military, running off to war to prove himself. How well he proved himself was debating hotly among the less than pleasant members of the clan, since he died in the attempt. He might have brought shame to his clan but in death, all was forgiven. If his sins hadn’t been forgiven by his father, the head of the clan, this would no doubt be one of two funerals occurring. Bowing to the wishes of his wife and eldest child about the funeral of his youngest was one of his smarter decisions.

The rumors that floated around the grief-stricken compound included the girlfriend, a pretty little thing none of them knew. They’d been _so_ young when he’d taken her away with him, leaving behind confused and angry families and friends. Barely out of high school, either of them. Now a shell of her former self, she floated about the compound in a daze, not responding to a word spoken to her. She stared at them with uncomprehending, dead eyes. 

The same dead eyes as her dead boyfriend.

They feared they would bury her next to him. 

The day of the funeral came, bringing with it rain and dreary skies. He might not have been the most beloved member of the clan or the kindest; that didn’t matter. He was clan, despite what he’d done to them, the disgrace he’d brought upon himself and they would honor him appropriately. 

His father had allowed his friends from the military to enter the burial grounds of their clan. One of them had immediately sought her out and she met him with open arms and teary, blank eyes. Her tiny hands clung to his arms like a drowning woman holding on for dear life. The man hugged her tightly, and bending, murmured in her ear for a few moments. A tiny, heart-wrenching, despairing cry was muffled in his dress jacket as he gently pried her fingers from their death grip on the fabric. With a sigh, he passed the mourning woman off to another member of the small squad, one that happened to resemble the dead man more than just a little. The first man took his place next to the open gravesite.

Not a word that came from the officiant’s mouth was heard by the soldiers or the grieving girlfriend. It was mostly empty platitudes; they’d heard them before and no doubt would hear them again.

The sound of the guns ringing out the final salute sent a bullet through her heart and she crumpled, the arms of her friend barely keeping her upright. From the back of her throat, a cry of anguish forced itself past the blockade of her clenched teeth.

The trumpets from the military band sent chills down the spines of the gathered family. 

Even more chilling was the high keening torn from the front of the group.

**Author's Note:**

> I cried while writing this, y’all better be grateful. I forced myself to watch military funeral videos. I cannot watch any videos that have to do with the military. Taps kills me every single time. (Even though I hear it every night at 10pm and have for the past 3 years.)


End file.
